The local economy is slowing down because the political turmoil creates uncertainty in government policies and erodes investment sentiment.
Securities companies will also be challenged by the change in investor behaviour to look for high returns during the market's fluctuations.
Brokerages will have to work double time to come up with an investment strategy and find profitable stocks to retain customers because of the entries of three players last year - AEC Securities, Asia Wealth Securities and Apple Wealth Securities - and Land and Houses Bank this year.